The field of the invention is that of compositions for the use as a cleaning agent of ears of an animal, preferably companion animals such as dogs and cats.
Dogs show signs of ear problems when starting to shake his head suddenly. The reason can be amongst others a foreign body, such as for example a grass seed, in the pet's ear. Other foreign organisms such as tiny ear mites can also produce irritation and wax.
Sometimes ear disease is straightforward and easily treated, when caused by a foreign body for example, but many ear problems are recurrent. The ear canal may be very narrow or is lined with plenty of hairs inside so that wax gets trapped. Skin that lines the ears can also give rise to problems such as allergies. The result is excess wax production, inflammation, infection and pain.
Thus, regular ear cleaning is vital, especially also as the vigorous head shaking can result in breaking blood vessels in the earflap, which bleeds and forms a blood blister (haematoma).
Typical signs in cats that suffer of an ear disease include unusual odour, scratching or rubbing of ears and head, discharge in the ears, redness or swelling of the ear canal, shaking of the head or tilting it to one side, pain around the ears, and changes in behaviour such as depression or irritability. Ear disease is a common condition in cats.
Inflammation of the outer ear canal is otitis externa. Primary causes of otitis externa include parasites such as ear mites (very common in cats) or foreign bodies. Probably the most common primary cause of otitis externa is allergies, which can be either to inhaled substances (atopy) or food.
Perpetuating factors such as bacterial and fungal infections of the outer ear can increase the severity of the condition and play a major role in chronic or recurrent otitis externa. Otitis media, which is inflammation/infection of the middle ear, is often a source of constant re-infection of the outer ear. One of the most significant perpetuating factors is ear canal hypertrophy (thickening), which may progress into a complete closure of the outer ear canal and make medical treatment of the ear almost impossible.
Treatment of otitis externa has to be according to the underlying, predisposing and perpetuating factors that are present. Treatment options include ear cleaning or flushing, ear medications for infections and steroids to reduce inflammation.
Animals with atopy (inhalant allergy) and food allergies are unlikely to be cured and may require continual ear care to minimize flare ups of otitis externa.
Proper ear cleaning is an important factor as ear medication applied on top of earwax or pus is ineffective and may become inactivated. The ear cleaning agent should be mildly antiseptic, dissolve earwax and coat the ear canal to provide long lasting action.
Known products for this purpose make use of chlorhexidine in general as active principle, but its effectiveness depends strongly on concentration. When chlorhexidine is used at high concentrations, it can result in undesired collateral effects. Other known active principles are iodine compounds that have a wide spectrum of antiinfectives against bacteria, fungi, spores, protozoa, viruses, and yeasts. Aqueous iodine is less effective than alcoholic solutions, but alcoholic component is drying and irritating to abrased skin. Povidone iodine is convenient to use as it is less irritating, but not as effective.
The aim of the invention is to provide a new composition for companion animals, in particular for dogs and cats that can be used to clean healthy or inflamed ears more effectively. It is desired to use an active ingredient that is more effective at low concentrations as well as more tolerable compared to other otic compositions. The composition exhibits the properties of cleaning, maintaining/nursing and disinfecting ears of companion animals, especially of dogs and/or cats. Furthermore, the usage of this composition is animal and user friendly.